On Sunday 23 April the UK government will be conducting a nationwide test of their emergency alert service which will set people’s mobile phones off at 3pm for 10 seconds to warn them if there is any impending risk of danger to life nearby, such as fires or flooding.
Domestic abuse charities are concerned about the potential threat these emergency alerts could pose and the danger and risk to the safety of a domestic abuse survivor by their perpetrator.
Potential risk to the safety of domestic abuse survivors
Many victims of domestic abuse have mobile phones hidden and the alert, a loud, siren-like sound with vibration and a screen message (pictured above) could put the victim at risk by revealing the secreted location of their mobile phone to their abuser.
These hidden phones are an important form of outside communication with family and friends for victims of domestic abuse and charities are urging survivors to opt out from receiving emergency alerts to avoid their mobile device from being detected.
How to Turn Off Emergency Alerts on mobile phones
We would urge anybody who has a concealed phone for their own safety to switch off these alerts. To avoid a hidden mobile phone from being detected please follow the instructions below to turn off the alerts on your Android or Apple iPhone mobile device.
Android
> Go to Settings
> Search for ‘Emergency Alerts’ in the search bar
> Turn off alerts for ‘Extreme Threats’ and ‘Severe Threats’ by tapping the toggle button – PLEASE NOTE: blue means ‘on’ and grey means ‘off’
iPhone
> Go to Settings
> Click on Notifications
> Scroll to the bottom of the page to find ‘Emergency Alerts’
> Tap the toggle to switch off ‘Extreme Alerts’ and ‘Severe Alerts’ – PLEASE NOTE: green means ‘on’ and grey means ‘off’
There is no excuse for domestic abuse
If you are a victim of domestic abuse please call 0151 264 7363 and a member of our experienced family law team will be on hand to assist you.
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